The New York Academy of Science will sponsor a conference entitled Lipid Mediators of Differentiation, Growth and Cellular Transformation, in New York City in May, 1999. The principal investigator and chair is Edward j. Goetzl, M.D. The cochair of the conference is Kevin Lynch, Ph. D. The goal of the conference is to bring together 150 of the leading researchers in the field to explore the current state of knowledge and plot directions for future research. Presentations will cover: 1) the biochemistry of generation and degradation of biologically active eicosanoids and lysophospholipids; 2) new knowledge of receptors, signal transduction pathways and mechanisms of regulation of cellular recognition and effects of lipids; 3) new biology of the lipids, including nuclear signaling, effects as intracellular messengers, roles in cellular proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis and transformation. 4) the physiological involvement of the lipids in the nervous, cardiovascular and immune systems, and in cancer; and 5)the current pharmacological position and approaches to development of useful small molecule agonists and antagonists. The proceedings will be published as a volume in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences and will be distributed internationally.